What's On!
News and What's On!
- Kirk Session Records Online!
You can now access kirk session records for the whole of Scotland from both our searchrooms! Following a collaborative project between the National Archives of Scotland (NAS) and the Church of Scotland, digital images of kirk session records can now be viewed online. Please Contact Usfor further information. - Timeline of Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire
We have created a timeline showingA History of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, complete with images from our collections. The timeline begins in 1179, with Aberdeen's confirmation as a Royal Burgh, and continues into the Twentieth Century. Detailing both local and national events, the timeline highlights some of the occurrences which make the North East of Scotland so fascinating. - Aberdeen & District Prisoner of War Bureau Indexes Online
We have another new index for you to search, this time from the Aberdeen & District Prisoner of War Bureau records. Formed during the First World War, it was set up to provide support for the families of soldiers from the North East of Scotland that had been taken prisoner during the conflict. You can access the index through our Cataloguespage and selecting number 25 from the list. - Want to know more about witches?
We've created a new section about the history of Witches and Witchcraft in AberdeenWitches and Witchcraft in Aberdeen. You'll find details of those who were tried as witches, and what their crimes were said to have been. You can also download an electronic copy of the Witches BookletWitches Booklet. Spooky! -
Archives on your Doorstep!
A great day was had at Inverurie Library on Thursday 20 October and at Peterhead Library on Tuesday 13th September, along with Aberdeenshire Museums. There was a lot of interest in the older records relating to Peterhead, as well as the school admission registers and records relating to those in receipt of poor relief. Those who visited Inverurie enjoyed seeing the town council minute books and school records. - It had been the turn of Ellon Library on Tuesday 9th August to host Archives on your Doorstep, and what a day it was! There were plenty of people who turned up for a look at the documents which included school admission registers, militia muster rolls, and many more. Thank you to all who came along! We also had a great time in Fraserburgh at the Fraserburgh Heritage Centre on Saturday 25th June, and at Banchory Library on Tuesday 19th July.
- Routes to your North East Roots
A new website, Routes to Your North East Scotland Roots, has been launched! The purpose purpose of the website is to give you an initial steer on your journey, acting as a directory to the organisations and institutions in the City of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire which hold original records or secondary sources of information that you may find useful in the quest for your ancestors. - The Homefront in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, 1939 - 1945
This exhibition, featuring documents from throughout the Archives' collections, records the situation in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire during the Second World War. It is loosely based around three themes - School Life, Civil Defence, and Keep Calm and Carry On. Simply click on The Homefront in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire to begin your journey! - Aberdeen City School Catchment Areas
We have recently added a new guide to our School Records page, which shows modern catchment areas for schools in Aberdeen City. This guide contains a list of streets in the City, along with the infant, primary and secondary schools which should be attended by those living in particular areas. This guide is based on modern catchment areas, so there may be some schools which may not have existed historically or have since changed their name. We are working on having a comprehensive guide to education and school records available soon, so keep checking back! - Indexes to Register of Apprentices now available online
An extremely useful source, the Registers of Apprentices list those who were indentured in various trades in Aberdeen. By no means a comprehensive list, however, the registers show those who were indentured only to Burgesses in Aberdeen. We have provided, with the help of one of our volunteers, separate indexes to each volume. We have started from 1797, as indexes are already available from 1622 to 1796 in a series of pamphlets available to view not only in our searchrooms, but also at Local Studies in Aberdeen's Central Library, and at the Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Society. To view our new indexes, visit our Catalogues page and select number 24 from the list. - Family History Fair - Edzell 14th May 2011
Visitors from all over Scotland were able to find out more about their family history in the beautiful setting of the Inglis Memorial Hall in Edzell on 14 May, when local history groups and Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives, were joined at a Tayroots genealogy fair by groups from Lanarkshire and beyond.
This event included stories for children by Sylvia Troon and her puppets and from Sheila Kinninmonth of Blether Taygither. There were be lots of
fascinating stalls and a talk by Archivist Fiona Scharlau on her series of books on Angus in old photographs where visitors are invited to bring their own family photos for identification. Samantha Godley also gave a talk on the intriguing organisation: The Guild of One Name Studies. - Stonehaven Library - Ask the Expert! 14 May 2011
Stonehaven Library was the setting for a local and family history day for all the family on Saturday 14th May. The public could take part in taster sessions on the Scotland's People website. On hand were the Stonehaven Heritage Society, Aberdeen City & Shire Archives and Aberdeenshire Registrars. Thank you to all those people who attended the event. - Granite Industry Sources
A free illustrated talk took take place on Thursday 5th May at 12.30pm at Aberdeen's Maritime Museum on Shiprow by Martin Hall, one of the archivists at Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives. He described the kind of sources held by the Archives, and explained the different ways in which they can used for research.
The talk was part of Aberdeen's Granite Festival and a full programme of events can be found on the Granite Festival website. - More Burial Records Available on Deceased Online!
We are pleased to announce that the records of the Spital Churchyard and St Peter's Cemetery in Aberdeen can now be viewed at Deceased Online. Over 105,000 additional records have been added, but there is still more to come - this represents about 70% of the total number of entries for St Peter's, so keep an eye out for more to come. The service is free to search, and there is then a small fee to view the record online. As always, if you have any queries regarding this please do not hesitate to Contact Us. - Loyal Volunteers of Macduff Online
A list of men who volunteered to help defend Macduff in 1795 following an appeal by the Town Council has been transcribed from Macduff's Town Council Minutes. It lists those who put themselves forward for the role, those who went on to take an oath, and those who attended the first meeting of the Volunteers. Take a look at our Catalogues page, and select number 23 from the list. - Militia Records Online
We are pleased to announce the publication of a new online resource. With the help of one of our volunteers, a transcription is now available of a volume from our collection of Aberdeen County Militia material. The volume contains details of payments of relief to the wives and families of militia men between 1803 and 1809, and lists not only the name of the wife (including their maiden name) but also shows the number of children the couple had, and where the family were staying at the time. Take a look at our Catalogues page, and select number 21 from the list.
2010
2010 was another busy year, with plenty to keep us occupied. We set up our Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives Facebook page, launched our Online Catalogue and started the process of making digitised images of the Aberdeen City burial registers available through Deceased Online. We also made some changes to our website to make it more streamlined and easier to use, and took part in a number of talks and exhibits. You can read about some of our activities below.
- Our Online Exhibition began!
Our online exhibitions relating to The Homefront in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire became available! Examining the impact of the war on various aspects of home life, you will find information on how schools coped with the arrival of evacuees, information on British Restaurants, and how civil defence was organised. Please take a look and begin exploring! - Spreading The Word - the Digital Legacy of the Scottish Reformation
The National Archives of Scotland (NAS) joined forces with the Church of Scotland and some of Scotland's local archives to mark the 450th anniversary of the Reformation in Scotland by highlighting new access to the digital images of millions of pages of precious church records.
A travelling display 'Spreading the Word' is putting the spotlight on these fascinating records which are one of Scotland's most important historical legacies. It opened in Aberdeen in the City Libraries on 26 and 27 October 2010, and moved to the Union Square shopping centre on 28 October 2010.
It then went to Orkney Archives, and then other venues around Scotland during the winter months. - Doors Open Day, Saturday 11 September 2010
Doors Open Day took place at Old Aberdeen House in Dunbar Street, Old Aberdeen on Saturday 11 September 2010 from 10.00a.m. - 4.00p.m. The former school now provides accommodation for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire archives going back to 1617. There was material on display and archivists on hand to answer questions. We had around 150 to 160 visitors, some of whom were former pupils of the school - we even had a former teacher!
- Aberdeen Tartan Day Local and Family History Fair, Saturday 31 July 2010
This was held in the Town House, Broad Street on Saturday 3131 July 2010. Set in the stunning civic rooms of the Victorian Town House, this local and family history fair is a regular feature in the City's Tartan Day events and drew a big crowd of participants and visitors alike from across Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and further afield. With experts on hand from organisations including the Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Society; the University of Aberdeen; the Registrars Service; the Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives; the Salmon Bothy from Portsoy; and the Fraserburgh Heritage Society, this was an ideal event to kick-start your family history research or find out more about the amazing resources that are available in the North East of Scotland. Local music, Doric poetry and bothy ballads were provided by Sheena Blackhall and Joyce Falconer and tours of the Town House were thrown in for free, made this much more than just a family history fair!
- Family History Fair at Crathes, Saturday 10th July and Sunday 11th July 2010
The Family History Fair at Crathes on Saturday 10th July and Sunday 11th July was very popular with representatives from various organisations. Martin Hall and Ruaraidh Wishart from the Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives also gave talks. We were happy to see everyone and would like to thank everyone who came along to make the event such a success.
2009
2009 was a busy year for us here at Aberdeen City Archives. We were involved in many events relating to the year of Homecoming, including heritage fairs. The one at Stonehaven on Saturday 28th November 2009 was the last of the year, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank the organisers for each fair and to those who came along for a look. We have thoroughly enjoyed the year of Homecoming and hope you did too.
We were at the heritage fair at Haddo House on Sunday 15th November, and at Stonehaven on Saturday 28th November - thanks to all who visited our stand.
Aberdeen City Archives made an appearance at
Fraserburgh Heritage Fair in the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses on Saturday 10th October. We were at the Inverurie Heritage Fair on Saturday 3rd October, Alford Heritage Fair on Saturday 26 September, and also at the Family & Local History Fair in the Town & County Hall of the Town House on Sunday 2nd August as part of
Aberdeen's Homecoming Tartan Day celebrations.
Information about Aberdeen City Archives, including a display of records, was also at the Turriff Show on 2nd & 3rd August.
Also, thank you to all who saw our stall at the Portsoy Traditional Boat Festival on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th July where we had a display of maritime related items in our collections.
Thank you to all who visited our stalls at the St Ternan's Fair in Banchory on Saturday 13th June, the Ellon Heritage Fair on Monday 8th June, Laurencekirk on Saturday 23rd May, the Scottish Family History Fair on Saturday 25th April and the Huntly Heritage Fair on Sunday 3rd May. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting you all and hope to see you at future events.